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“The Trump Convention”

Earlier this week, when the media asked Donald Trump’s campaign director, Paul Manafort, if the campaign was worried about different talks that Trump may not be the nominee after all, he responded with total confidence that he was not, because this would be a “Trump convention.”

This could actually not be more true. This Republican National Convention is totally a Trump convention. It is a more polished Trump rally, but Donald established himself right away-front and center- with his grand entrance to introduce his wife, Melania, before his speech. Many found this unprecedented move surprising, but it was really a way for Trump to establish his presence, and go agains the status quo. Normally, the candidate and their family arrive on Wednesday. The wife speaks on that day, and the next day, the nominee accepts the nomination. But instead, this convention from the start has largely been focused on Trump.

During the last convention, the focus was on the economy. Different politicians, especially rising star politicians, gave their own personal story about how America helped them to achieve their dreams. Senators talked about small businesses that their family started that led them to live the life they always imagined. The purpose of this was to create the narrative that the America we know and love is one that rewards hard work with more opportunities- and implied that the man to allow this American dream to grow and flourish was Mitt Romney. The GOP convention, on a whole, seemed much more organized. Throughout the week, there were numerous different events held by Senators and Congressman, and a huge about of politicians meeting and greeting one another.

So during this convention, the contrast is stark. The big name politicians that have come to this is remarkably few. We have Mayor Giuliani, Governor Chris Christie, Dr. Ben Carson, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on the list, but their message seems forced, and in general, it seems like they do not want to be there. Everyone in the establishment seems like they almost cannot believe their eyes that this is what the convention is, and this is the nominee.

While this is something that obviously cannot be proved, it can be felt through the speeches and the response to the speeches. In general, the most talked about speeches are the ones from Trump’s family. So far, Melania and Donald Trump Jr.’s have received the most attention for both good and bad reasons. But it proves the point that this is really about Trump, and the best people to promote him are the ones that are closest to him. He even has employees speaking to further paint that picture. The point is that if you know him, you love him, and the problem is that Americans who dislike him simply do not truly know him well enough to understand.

And those who are talking that are not related to him, are mostly bashing Hillary Clinton in order to paint a better picture of Donald Trump. Governor Chris Christie’s speech was one that got the crowd involved, calling everyone to scream out “guilty” or “not guilty” over foreign policy mistakes. As you might expect, the crowd yelled “guilty.”

This convention really is all about Trump. He made his presence known on the first night, and kept it known on the second night. His children were the ones who announced the New York delegates, and as they did, it was clear the emotions they felt as their father officially became the nominee, and was put “over the top.” This was then followed by speeches from Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

Throughout the convention, the focus has been on Donald Trump. The only time this deviates is when the attack is on Hillary Clinton.

Paul Manafort could not have been more accurate when he said that this is a “Trump convention.”